JILL ABIGAIL

Jill Abigail says she was late to everything that matters in her life today. Late to feminism (nearly 40 when she embraced the movement), to becoming a lesbian (nearly 50), an active environmentalist (at 60) and to Facebook (at 78). It was through Facebook that she encountered the gender debate 18 months ago, prompting her to embark on a belated education that led to her penning a letter to the Green Party outlining her concerns and catapulting her into the public spotlight.

Abigail says while the issue is new, she sees the current argument as part of an ongoing fight for women’s rights, a fight she jumped into, boots and all, once she discovered feminism in 1978. It was an unlikely departure for the English-born daughter of a working-class family in conservative Christchurch, who left school at 16 and was married by the time she was 20.

She would never have considered going to university if not for her boss at her first job at the Country Library Service, who insisted all staff continue their education. So began part-time study for an arts degree. After Abigail’s marriage ended, she went to England, where she worked as a photograph librarian for the BBC. Later, she took up a job in Finland and married a Finn. The couple returned to New Zealand, where Abigail spent five years working in broadcasting, including as a.